A Scarecrow Bending Time
by AgentOriana47
Summary: After the elemental nations finally attained the peace Kakashi had longed for his whole life, he's suddenly thrown back in time with no memory of the past few days and an out-of-place sharingan. Internal conflict ensues. Time-travel.
1. Doubt and Hesitation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto – although I think that's pretty obvious

A/N: I've been thinking about writing something like this for a while, so here it is :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Doubt and hesitation

* * *

It wasn't his choice, it really wasn't.

Kakashi didn't know what to expect when he woke up on the edge of a small clearing in the late afternoon, or how to process being half his normal size - sporting a scarf instead of a mask, and one normal eye rather than two.

It really wasn't his choice.

In fact, Kakashi had no clue how he got there in the first place. His memories of the past few days were blurry, and his pint-sized body left him with a lot of questions. He concluded that he was either having a strange dream, or he was under a genjutsu.

So, without sitting up, without tearing his gaze from the rays of sunlight tearing through the overhang of trees, and without hesitation, he spoke a half-hearted:

"Kai."

And nothing happened.

Well then, not a genjutsu.

With a resigned sigh, Kakashi sat up and observed his surroundings. The grass was worn with use and slightly singed in some places, but still alive and well-kept. Some broken kunai and shuriken were strewn across the field, and a few training posts lay off in the distance. A small pond located just to the left of Kakashi sparkled in the scattered rays of sunlight that fell between branches of tall trees worn with age.

It was a training ground. Albeit one Kakashi didn't recognize, but still a training ground nonetheless. The climate, weather and terrain seemed to match that of fire country as well, which was strange, but still not as strange as Kakashi's height and sharingan eye.

He needed more information. The dream felt too real – real enough to put him slightly on edge. And in case it wasn't a dream, he needed to find out what was going on. Sooner rather than later.

So, Kakashi left the training ground in search of something that would give him more information. Before departing from his solitude, however, he pulled down the fabric of his Hitai-ate over his left eye. The chakra that had been leaking from his eye (even though it was closed) immediately stopped as soon as the fabric locked it in.

The chakra leakage was something he hadn't had to deal with in a while. Not since the fourth war, when his sharingan was stolen and left eye promptly healed.

"Maa, life never gets old, does it?" Kakashi walked along a downtrodden path until he reached a bustling street filled with talkative civilians. Yet, as he walked through the lively crowd, Kakashi could sense overlying tension in the air. What happened?

Then he looked up and saw the looming Hokage monument of Konoha. A monument with only _three_ heads. The sight reminded him of a time plagued with nightmares. He hoped this wasn't a nightmare, they had started going away recently.

Kakashi sighed. He had no clue what was going on, and he was too exhausted to put up with the strange situation. Could you really blame him though? At this point in Kakashi's life, the number of things he experienced had worn him down; he lived through two world wars, survived while the majority of his friends died, and watched his students surpass him to _literally become gods._

Becoming Hokage didn't help with this disposition either. He never really wanted that honor. It wasn't one of his dreams or aspirations - unlike his predecessors that fought so hard for it.

He wished he could just pass the hat off to his student, who was obviously more deserving of the role. But not yet. Kakashi knew that even though Naruto saved the world and became the strongest shinobi in it, he was still too inexperienced in politics and too unprepared to become the Hokage.

Of course, these facts still didn't help him embrace the situation. Not to mention it got under his skin when people called him "Lord Sixth".

Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the strange looks passing civilians were giving him. He tried to ignore it at first. It would make sense for them to look at him with confusion, considering his predicament.

A small child that looked exactly like their Hokage when he was younger wandering around? The sudden disappearance of half of a mountain? Yes, that would warrant confusion.

But these people… they were looking at him with distaste – like he disgusted them. As he passed by, happy faces dulled and slowly screwed up. Eyes narrowed, and glares pierced him from all sides.

This circumstance would then repeat. The previous civilians would return to what they were doing before with slightly less vigor, and new ones would continue on with the action.

It brought back memories from long ago.

Kakashi walked slightly faster, trying to get away from their heavy stares. His feet unconsciously led him to the place that was so ingrained in his memory he could probably paint a picture of it in his sleep. He only stopped once the memorial stone was in sight. It looked about the same if you weren't paying close attention, but as he got closer, Kakashi noticed a jarring difference.

The names.

The names were… less.

Not - not... not the countless number of names he remembered.

Not his memorial stone.

Kakashi stumbled away, nearly tripping in his haste. He became hyper aware of his small stature and sharingan eye. The distasteful stares, the three Hokage faces, the training ground that he recognized from only so long ago, the dull ache in his heart.

A silly idea popped into Kakashi's head.

With a frantic few steps forward again, he fell to his knees and traced his hand across the accursed stone, scanning it desperately for one name in particular.

Obito Uchiha.

The name was not there.

Kakashi let out a staggering breath of relief that he didn't realize he was holding; but through that relief, he noticed that some things weren't adding up.

"How… How could Obito's name not… my eye is… -it doesn't make sense!" Kakashi punched the base of the stone in confused frustration. "It's a dream though. It _has to be_ , so of course it wouldn't make sense… of course…"

Kakashi felt childish. What had gotten into him? What a foolish idea. Time travel? Yeah right, that wasn't possible. It was a dream. _A dream._

Kakashi walked again, leaving behind the haunting memories that surrounded the memorial stone, and cleared his head. No need to get worked up. Kakashi put his hands into his pockets and slouched slightly, ignoring the out-of-place stares directed towards him.

He acted like he would in any other situation, but the monotonous steps that he forced to remain even wracked at his insides. The wait heightened his anticipation by the second. His body felt cold.

He had arrived at his destination.

The gates of the Hatake compound soared above his tiny frame. Kakashi slowly placed a hand on the gate and pushed it open, noticing that the entrance seal still responded to his chakra signature.

He cautiously walked into the yard of the compound. Even if this was real, there was no way his father would be alive. It would probably be right after the Kannabi Bridge mission, and right before Obito's name was carved into the stone.

Yes, that's it. So, _don't_.

Don't get your hopes up.

The scarf around his face felt suffocating and out of place. He never wore it after the academy, except for that _one_ day - the day…. the day his father….

Kakashi walked through the front door of the compound and lifted the headband off his sharingan, using it to look for anything suspicious. After seeing nothing, he headed directly through the hallways towards the study and stood outside the door.

He won't be in there. He won't. He...

 _SHLUUNK!_

Kakashi threw the door open.

A choked, tortured noise that clawed at his heart and turned his body inside out emerged from his lips. Kakashi cautiously walked over to the man slumped against the floor. His eyes felt hazy despite the sharingan capturing the moment with perfect clarity.

A cough.

"K-kaka… shi…"

Kakashi's eyes darted up. His father was still alive.

In a flash, he was kneeling by the man's side, forcefully pushing away his suspicious thoughts. Thoughts about how it was _supposed to be_ a dream, how his father was still alive despite the sharingan that weighed heavily in Kakashi's left eye.

How everything was beginning – but only just beginning – to make sense. The naïve idea that the world just might be giving him a second chance was steadily gaining more weight.

Kakashi flipped his father onto his back and maneuvered his hands around the tanto to put pressure on the wound. Sakumo could only look at Kakashi through dying eyes as his son fought to save his life.

Kakashi ignored the blood on his hands that slowly pooled around him and his father. He needed help. Kakashi spiked his chakra as intensely and sporadically as he could while still maintaining focus on his father. Hopefully that would catch someone's attention.

Next, he quickly unwrapped the scarf from around his face and placed it against his father's wound in place of the gloved hands. They had allowed too much blood to seep through already.

He focused his sharingan on the wound and tried using what little healing jutsu he had learned from _her_. The bleeding had gone down, but there was still so much.

Oh God, oh God! Please hang on a little longer! Please!

The sun set completely. His father's breathing began to slow. Kakashi's eyes started filling with the tears he had been holding back.

No…

A burst of light engulfed and enshrouded him taking him out of the shadows. Loud voices filled up the silence and medics rushed over to his side. Kakashi quickly covered his left eye again before anyone could see what was really there.

"Someone take care of the kid! This man is still alive!" The medic to Kakashi's left shouted, noticing his dazed look and signs of shock. One medic immediately picked him up and began to carry him out of the room.

"You and you," she pointed to two other medics, "stay here with me to help me stabilize him enough to transport him. The rest of you, go back to the hospital and wait for our arrival!"

"But ma'am, with all due respect… that man is -"

"I don't want to hear it when I just gave you a direct order! Now, get moving!"

That was the last thing Kakashi heard before the medic carried him out and shut the door. Kakashi didn't have the heart to protest as he was brought outside and set on the steps of the porch. That was, until the medic reached for his face.

Kakashi slapped his hand away with a fierce look.

"I just want to pull down your mask, so you can breathe easier."

"My… mask? But…" Kakashi reached up to touch his face feeling the familiar fabric against his fingers.

He hadn't realized it was under the scarf the whole time. Kakashi relaxed only slightly; the barrier between his face and the world comforted him, especially in a moment like this, where his emotions were raw for the world to see without it there.

"Uh, kid? Listen, we're going to go to the hospital and do a quick check up on you to make sure you're okay, alright?"

Kakashi nodded. He was too exhausted to think. It was scary how much things could change so fast - as if he needed a reminder.

He was scared.

* * *

Roses are red

Violets are blue

After reading my chapters

Please leave a review!


	2. Confusion and Evasion

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, that belongs to Kishimoto

A/N: I wanted to thank all of you who liked, favorited and reviewed my story! Special thanks to 'st4t1c sh0ck' for being the first reviewer!

On another note, I went back and edited the last chapter. No major plot points were changed, but a lot of the wording and Kakashi's thoughts were altered (this will probably happen a lot throughout this story seeing that as time goes on, my writing will get better, therefore I will want to edit previous attempts).

note: I used a section of _italics_ to represent a flashback

Without further ado – enjoy!

Chapter 2: Confusion and Evasion

* * *

"I'm in the past."

Kakashi whispered the words to himself, solidifying the outlandish fact. He knew there was no point in trying to deny the truth.

From all the things he'd seen so far, to the fact that he _still hadn't woken up yet_ , there was no other conclusion he could possibly make.

Kakashi sat outside of the operation room twiddling his thumbs to pass the time. The the red operation light illuminated the dimly-lit hallway, it's crimson glow monopolizing Kakashi's senses, reminding him of a certain spinning eye.

The sharingan, out of all other things, was the most out of place. In his time, the sharingan was gone. No exception. So Kakashi was having a hard time understanding how he could have it now, especially since this time was before the 'Obito Incident'.

Kakashi thought back to his previous encounter with one of the more… _intrusive_ medics. He had thought that due to the village's current hatred towards him and his father, he would be left alone. Apparently Kakashi had been wrong.

A kid was still a kid in a medic's eyes – even if there was some underlying hatred for him in their hearts. He'd barely dogged a bullet with that one conversation…

 **…**

 _"_ _Are you okay?"_

 _Kakashi looked up at the medic blankly. His emotions were finally contained enough for him to put up the long-missed facade._

 _"_ _Yep."_

 _"_ _Kid, I refuse to believe that. C'mon take off the mask and hitai-ate, I just want to make sure that you're not suffering any signs of shock. You may legally be an adult by ninja standards, but you're still only a kid by medical standards."_

 _If only she knew._

 _"_ _I'm perfectly fine."_

 _Kakashi received a pointed look from the medic and decided to try a different approach._

 _Forcing his one visible eye to adopt a small smile (something his past self would have never done), Kakashi used the most pleading tone he could muster up and spoke a request that the medic hopefully wouldn't be able to refuse. "I just want to be close to my dad… Please let me wait by the operating room, that's the only thing that can really make me feel any better."_

 _The medic looked away guiltily._

 _No, that was a look of pity – Kakashi repressed an instinctual eye-twitch at the thought._

 _"…_ _fine. But what about your left eye? It's been covered for a while…" The medic slowly reached out, but Kakashi ducked away before she could wrap her intrusive fingers around the only thing keeping him from a long night in a torture and interrogation room._

 _"_ _I said I'm fine. I just have a little headache is all – it's probably from the stress… Just please, leave me be."_

 _Kakashi walked towards the door and placed his hand on the handle before he was stopped once again._

 _"_ _Wait! One more thing!" the medic hastily spoke, as if remembering something at the last minute. "Where did you learn that thing you did with your chakra? The one that alerted the medics of your location?"_

 _During the 12 years spent serving the Hokage as an anbu._

 _"_ _I don't know, maybe I read it in one of my father's scrolls."_

 _And with that, Kakashi finally left, leaving a confused medic staring contemplatively at the place he had stood not seconds ago._

 **…**

Kakashi tried to stand up and - realizing too late that his feet were too short to reach the ground - clumsily stumbled onto the floor. At least no one was around to witness the embarrassing the event.

With a frustrated sigh, he headed for one of the bathrooms. Kakashi hadn't seen himself in a mirror since he had 'arrived', and he needed to take stock of his physical situation. Sitting down doing nothing was going to get him nowhere, despite his irrational urge to wait and make sure his father was okay.

He ignored a pang in his heart.

Kakashi opened the door to his destination. He didn't have the time to be thinking about things like this. Ironic, right? He trekked over to the sinks and extended his chakra. No one was in the bathroom with him, so he had free reign.

Kakashi pulled down his mask, pulled up his hitai-ate, and splashed his face with water. He looked up and saw himself for the first time since 'coming back' and noticed the tired rings around his eyes (the left one still being closed).

Even though Kakashi was aware that he was in the past, seeing it still took the breath out of him - made everything more real. Now if only he could remember how he got sent to the past in the first place.

Kakashi noticed that the scar that had once marred his face was no longer over his left eye, giving him mixed feelings. He knew that without the scar he could probably get away with walking around in public as long as he kept the eye closed. However, even if he bought contacts to cover the sharingan, it would still drain too much chakra to keep them open.

At least if he had the scar, Kakashi would be able to say that his eye was hurt in an accident. Then he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, so long as he could keep the medics away from it.

Kakashi looked back up to the scar-less eyelid and braced himself. He slowly opened his eye and watched as red and spinning black stared back. It really _was_ there.

He stared at his reflection for a few seconds before a thought popped into his head and he focused more chakra into his eye.

The mangekyo emerged.

Kakashi stepped back, suddenly wondering if maybe in this timeline both Obito and Rin had both met their respective fates early to compensate for his eye, before pushing the foolish thought away. There had to be a proper explanation, he just hadn't thought of it yet.

Right – information. He needed information if ever wanted to find out what was going on.

Kakashi dashed out of the bathroom and snuck out of the hospital, heading to the best place he could think of to gather the information he was so deprived of. The bookstore. After only three minutes of travelling at normal walking speed, he was there and formulating a plan.

Kakashi walked over to the alley and henged into some non-descript chunin with brown har and black eyes. He didn't want anyone in the library to recognize or remember him, so nothing flashy.

He then went into the store and perused the selection - he had quickly amassed a large selection of books and sat down to sort through which ones would be useful to him. By the time he was done he had picked out 5 books: _An Introduction to Space Time Seals, Time Travel - A Theory, Chakra Unbound From Time, The Sharingan And Chakra – They're Not So Different,_ and _A Shinobi's Guide to Sudden Memory Loss._

Kakashi was about to go buy the books when a certain orange cover caught his eye.

 _No way._

In an instant Kakashi was on the other side of the isle, reaching his hand out to grab the miracle gifted from the heavens. He hesitated for a moment. Should he get it? It would be out of character for the Kakashi of this time, but…

It didn't matter if no one knew he had it. Plus, it was one of the original first printings of the series! He couldn't pass this up!

So, there he was, buying his six books and receiving strange looks from the guy running the register. "You have very… diverse taste."

Kakashi (still in henge) smiled. "I'm a very diverse person."

"Er… right…" The young man quickly placed the orange book into a bag filled with the other five, and handed it to him, blushing profusely. "That'll be 480 ryo."

Kakashi sighed in relief, he had just enough. "Here you go. Oh, and keep the change… Maybe you can use it to buy your own copy." Kakashi held up _Icha Icha_ and gave the man a wink (ah the joy of having two eyes).

The cashier sputtered and turned evermore red with embarrassment, but before he was able to shout out a retort, Kakashi was out the door.

It was 2:00 in the morning and the streets were filled with yells and drunken laughter. Civilians and shinobi alike were too inebriated to notice 'the traitor's son', making his walk more relaxing than it should have been.

Kakashi smiled at the lively shouts of his home, causing him to nearly forget that he was in the past, and that his father was lying in an operating room fighting for his life. The people of Konoha loved to party no matter what time period, Kakashi mused, pushing away the negative thoughts.

He could almost imagine his three students running up to him, yelling his name obnoxiously while dragging him along from one destination to the next. Kakashi would act nonchalant and ask them to stop dragging him around, but in reality, he would follow them anywhere, and they knew that just as well.

Sasuke's smirk, Sakura's laugh, and Naruto's smile. They were precious to him. Would he ever get to see them again?

Kakashi stopped in the street – he hadn't thought of that. If he changed something – which he already had – how much would the future be affected? Would he be able to accurately predict what was to come if too much was altered? Would his precious students even be born into this world? What were the chances that his students would have the same exact DNA, personalities, _parents?_ What if –

"Aghh!"

Kakashi screamed as a searing pain shot through his left eye. Kakashi grasped at it through the cloth of his hitai-ate and hissed in annoyance. When he pulled his hand away again, he froze.

Blood?

Why was there blood?

The stabbing sensation shot through his eye once more and Kakashi stumbled off to one of the many alleyways to get away from the too-loud crowd. He slid down to a sitting position with his back against a dirty wall and left side leaning against dumpster, blocking himself from the view of any curious civilians or shinobi.

Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate off and threw it to the ground, noticing how his blood splattered unceremoniously across the concrete and dripped from his chin onto his clothes. There was puddle of some unidentifiable liquid lying next to him and he used it to look at his reflection

The world began to spin around him, and bile rose up through Kakashi's throat, but he pushed before he would be forced to add to the aforementioned liquid.

What Kakashi saw shocked him once again (hadn't that been happening a lot recently?).

A fresh, long gash ran through Kakashi's left eyelid from just above the eyebrow to slightly below the mask. It was exactly the same as the one he received during the Kannabi Bridge mission – the one that left a scar that he had previously lived with for almost all of his life. And it hurt like _hell._

Kakashi leaned back again, pushing himself as far into the corner a he possibly could and wrapped his bloody hitai-ate tightly around his wound once more to contain the bleeding.

Kakashi tried to stand up so he could find a safer place, however, another stabbing pain shot through him and he fell back to the ground. It felt as though a thousand needles were being pushed into his pores, and his breaths came out in short bursts.

More blood. So much blood.

Kakashi only had enough time to push himself further into the corner before his eyes drooped and the darkness engulfed him.

 **…**

The sun was bright. He had a headache. Ow.

Kakashi stood slowly, cringing slightly at the cracking of the dried blood caked against his body. He almost didn't remember what had happened – but only almost. He needed help, a place to stay. Somewhere far away from prying eyes and curious medics… A place that would give him enough time to figure things out.

Such a place did not exist.

Heck, he didn't even know _when_ he was! Which Kakashi then concluded was stupid as he proceeded to buy a newspaper from the stand closest to him.

The date was a day after his father's suicide – everything appeared to be the same as it was before. Good, information was good.

Kakashi pocketed the magazine and tried to arrange his clothes in a manner that would make it appear is if he hadn't just passed out in his own blood. After making himself look semi-decent (for a person who was covered in blood), he walked, letting his feet take him anywhere while he contemplated his situation. It was better not to worry about his students, there was nothing that could tell him how or if they would come to be, and there was nothing he could do to force them into this world.

If he remembered correctly (which he did – there was no way he could ever forget these few days), Minato-sensei was out on a mission with Kushina and wouldn't return for a few days. This left no one to pester him, seeing as his father was… _occupied,_ and he wasn't placed on his team yet.

Kakashi approached some destination and choked, feet suddenly freezing. It was the Uchiha compound. The still in-use, bustling, _lively_ Uchiha compound that _wasn't_ covered in blood and death.

Kakashi walked into the district

He knew it was foolish - he knew it was but…

The sounds of playing kids were drowned out as he approached a house on the outskirts of the compound. So foolish. He stopped outside the door. Foolish, foolish, foolish… He knocked. Why was he doing this to himself? The door never opened.

Kakashi stood still, slowly bringing his breathing back to normal.

Obito wasn't home.

* * *

IMPORTANT A/N: I'm making this author's note to explain how I arranged Kakashi's timeline (because plot holes).

4 Years old – Kakashi enters the academy (Obitobi = 8 years old)

5 Years old – He graduates the academy and apprentices w/ Minato (Obitobi = 9 years old) – this is the year Kakashi's dad dies, so this is where this story starts.

6 Years old – He joins team 7 and becomes a chunin (Obitobi = 10 years old)

9 Years old – He becomes jounin (Obitobi = 13 years old)

11 Years old – Rin dies (at age 15)

13 Years old – He joins anbu

14 Years old – Minato dies

15 Years old – He becomes an anbu captain

24 Years old – He is relieved of anbu

24 and 25 Years old – He failed two genin teams

26 Years old – He passes team 7

29 Years old – Shippuden starts

31 Years old – end of war, appointed Hokage

32 Years old – He travels back in time

(In case you haven't noticed, I like to call Obito 'Obitobi')

I have a lot of reasons for making the timeline like this (and yes, Kakashi is 3-4 years younger than Obito, Rin, etc.), so if you have any questions about it then leave a review and I will answer them in the next chapter… and if you don't have any questions, **then leave a review anyways** … hehe... please?

Until next time!


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